In recent years, vehicles and the field of automotive maintenance have experienced rapid growth in computerized systems both within automotive vehicles and in computerized diagnostic tools that identify maintenance issues with the vehicles. Modern vehicles include one or more computer systems that are often referred to as an electronic control unit (ECU). In some vehicles, the ECU controls and monitors the operations of numerous systems including, but not limited to, the engine, steering, tires, transmission, brakes, fuel delivery or battery level monitoring, and climate control systems. Some vehicles also include numerous sensors that monitor various aspects of the operation of the vehicle. The ECU receives the sensor data and is configured to generate diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) if the sensors indicate that one or more systems in the vehicle may be failing or operating outside of predetermined parameters.
Many vehicles use the controller area network (CAN) vehicle bus to transmit data between the ECU and the onboard sensors and components in the vehicle. The CAN bus, or other equivalent data networks in a vehicle, provides a common communication framework between the ECU and the various sensors and systems in the vehicle. Additionally, the CAN bus or equivalent network enables communication between the ECU and external diagnostic tools. Diagnostic tools are also digital computers with communication ports and input/output devices, including display screens and input control buttons, which relay information to a mechanic and enable the mechanic to perform tests and send commands to the ECU. The ECU and diagnostic tools often use an industry standard protocol, such as a version of the onboard diagnostics (OBD) protocol, including the OBD-II protocol. Automotive mechanics and service professionals use a wide range of digital diagnostic tools to interface with the ECUs in vehicles both to diagnose issues with the vehicles, which are often indicated by DTC data from the ECU.
While automotive diagnostic tools are in widespread use today, the diagnostic tools are limited to use by an individual mechanic as part of a diagnostic procedure. In some instances, the DTC data and other diagnostic information from the vehicle does not provide enough information for a mechanic to diagnose and repair the vehicle. Consequently, improvements to vehicle diagnostic systems and diagnostic tools that provide access to additional information and suggestions for repair procedures based on the DTC and other diagnostic data from a vehicle would be beneficial.